Wednesday, September 21, 2005

It's so sad when celebrities fight...

...but hey, at least it makes the Press Corpse pay attention.

(For a second.)

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks during a meeting with Mexican Undersecretary for North American Affairs, Geronimo Gutierrez in his office in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2005. Later in the day the Governor held private interviews with various news organizations including the Associated Press. In that interview Schwarzenegger discussed a wide range of matters pertaining to the special election and his own decision to pursue a second term next year. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Yahoo! News

AP Interview: Schwarzenegger Admits Errors

By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer Wed Sep 21, 6:22 AM ET

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he is confident he can persuade voters to approve his reform measures in next month's special election and dismissed as "silly" the criticisms leveled at him in recent months by actor Warren Beatty.

In an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, Schwarzenegger discussed a wide range of matters pertaining to the Nov. 8 election and his own decision to pursue a second term next year.

The Republican governor is pushing several ballot initiatives that would curb the power of the Democrat-controlled Legislature and the state's powerful public employee unions.

He wants voters to establish a state spending cap, extend the time it takes for public school teachers to be eligible for tenure, require public employee unions to seek permission from their members before using dues money for political purposes, and strip lawmakers of their power to draw the lines of their own districts.

Schwarzenegger insisted his agenda is not intended as a political vendetta against the Democrats with whom he has clashed all year. He acknowledged that in pursuing the reforms, he was "stepping on people's toes" from time to time — but said his goal had always been to reach a bipartisan agreement that would have avoided a contentious campaign.

"It's all about collaboration. My whole life was all about collaboration. But there are certain things, as you know, when you talk about those reforms, they can't go there," he said.

Schwarzenegger also said he was perplexed by Beatty, a fellow actor and Democrat who has become an outspoken antagonist.

"There are some people who are close to him that say that he is just starving for attention and that's the way he gets attention. Other people said, look he's not working and he just feels like he should maybe get involved in politics," Schwarzenegger said. "Instead, I just think that maybe he is jealous that I did jump in. I find it silly, because I respect his work."

The governor said his wife, Maria Shriver, and his four children, ages 7 to 15, support his decision to run again, despite Shriver's often very public pleas to have her husband back at home.

"My wife will support anything I do, because she's that kind of a woman," he said. "She would rather have me at home, she'd rather have me in the movie business and she'd rather have me write books about all my ideas."

Schwarzenegger also said he erred with his comments at the state women's conference last December, when a group of nurses protested his plans to block a new law changing the state's nurse-patient staffing ratio. Schwarzenegger responded to the protest, saying, "Special interests don't like me in Sacramento because I'm always kicking their butts."

That comment, and his continued effort to block enforcement of the new ratios, have provoked angry demonstrations by nurses around the state.

"Was it the right thing to say? No. Are there certain lines that I have used in the past that are on 'Saturday Night Live?' Yes," Schwarzenegger said. "But this is part of the learning experience."